As martial artists, we’re always looking for that extra edge to boost our performance in training. Whether we’re training for competition or just looking to get better overall, sports psychology can definitely help us achieve our goals.

People always remember the first and last thing that happens to them and forget whatever happens in between that. If you’re trying to figure out a technique, ask your instructor or a more advanced student for help before or after class.

To remember what you learned during class, take down notes as soon as your training session is done. This way, everything will still be fresh in your memory!

2) Teach and learn.

The more we train martial arts, the more we realize how much we have yet to learn. There are hundreds, thousands of techniques out there and possibly new ones that no one knows about yet. We can get so overwhelmed that we may find it difficult to learn new things.

According to experts, the best way to learn is to teach. If you’re looking to master a particular technique, consult your instructor then teach it to one of your training partners. You’ll get it down sooner than you realize!

3) Stay present.

Sometimes, we can’t help but get distracted during training. We think about all the mistakes we’ve made in the past, what we need to do to get promoted, or even about what we’re going to have for dinner. Staying in the present moment requires a lot of practice. It requires focus, determination and will power to stick to what’s happening right now.

Let go of everything else and concentrate on what you need to do at the present moment – do you need to adjust your grips, increase your pace, concentrate more on sparring? Don’t worry about everything else, it will all eventually fall into place.

4) Manageable goals.

Make your ultimate goal more manageable by breaking down your training goals into smaller, more achievable ones. For example, if your ultimate goal is to compete in a tournament by the end of the month, break it down even further by giving yourself one day to create a game plan, dedicate two days a week for extra cardio, and so forth.

Write your goals out and discuss them with your instructor and teammates, they’ll give you the support and guidance that you need!

5) Make things difficult for yourself.

The more difficult you make things for yourself, experts say that you will appreciate it more and decide that what you’ve done is actually important and worthwhile. Even if you realize later on that the hardship you put yourself through was unnecessary, it still works to your advantage because you’ve accomplished the goal you set for yourself.

Many of us aren’t full-time athletes and it can be easy to get distracted and put off our goals for the meantime. But if we constantly try to push ourselves to the limit, we certainly won’t lose track of what we need to do. And, we might actually get what we wanted in the first place.

6) Don’t feel bad about your mistakes.

Everyone makes mistakes: the most advanced students in class, the newbies, and even our instructors. It’s only human to do so, nobody’s perfect after all. Often times, we are afraid to make mistakes because we are programmed to slap ourselves on the wrist for anything we’ve done wrong. After all, it’s what we’ve been taught since we were children.

However, there are also positive consequences for any mistake committed. Maybe you didn’t reach your end goal of winning all your spars for that day but instead of feeling down, look back at those spars and at the mistakes you’ve made. Chances are, you could probably learn from them and use it to your advantage next time around!

7) Create a habit.

Experts say that it takes approximately 66 days to form a habit. Each day, we probably go through the same routine: wake up, check your email, check Facebook or Instagram and get on with the rest of your day. For some reason, some tasks become a habit. There’s something that motivates us to do them, even if they aren’t particularly helpful.

How did they become habits in the first place? According to experts, probably because they were easy to do. We could mindlessly turn on our phones and keep scrolling, without much effort. Imagine if we could do the same for training — take notes, do extra cardio, drill after training, ask questioins. Could you imagine how much you would improve?

This is a great article from Evolve Daily. I hope you found it beneficial.

There’s a new study out of Canada showing that college students who underwent a 12 hour sexual assault resistance training were far less likely to to be assaulted. More telling, is that they were less likely to be the victims of attempted assault.

Self-defense training works

This study jives with earlier research by the self-defense instruction company,Model Mugging. They surveyed 60,000 of their female students and found that after training (more intense than the Canadian training), 98.3% of their students were able to avoid assaults altogether.

Of those who were assaulted, 97% were able to fight off their attacker, 80% of those were able to use voice and body language alone and did not resort to violence.

Sexual assault

Numbers on sexual violence in the US vary, and are difficult to track, because it is an under-reported crime. The most conservative estimates are around 1 in 5 women, and somewhat fewer men, will be the victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The numbers might be much higher, but this number is still staggering.

Imagine being able to reduce sexual assault incidents from 20% of women to less than 2% of women. Imagine if, of those 2%, sexual predators were only successful 3% of the time. This means a reduction to .06%.

The controversies around teaching women’s self-defense

In the interest of full-disclosure, I do teach a kick-butt women’s self defense class. I started teaching in Boston around the summer of 2000 with my partner when two serial rapists were attacking women in the city. Quite frankly these guys were pissing us off (pardon my French).

Since then I have heard a lot of arguments against training women in self-defense. To be honest, all of them are completely without merit. Most of them are a subtle form of misogyny. Allow me to elaborate:

The quasi feminist argument

In 2014, Miss USA and tae kwon do black belt, Nina Sanchez, created a stir among some when she dared suggest women train in self defense to help prevent sexual assault. The argument, by some calling themselves feminists, was that this somehow promoted rape-culture. Expecting women to help prevent rape was “victim-blaming.”

I may be male, but I fail to understand how women empowering themselves and taking control of their bodies is anything but feminist. Self-defense training isn’t about shifting blame from criminals, it’s about developing our bodies, minds, and spirits. For women and men, this is a good thing.

And yes, there is something wrong with a culture where sexual assault is so prevalent. We can work against that problem from multiple angles. And a very effective angle is empowering women to stand up for themselves.

That self-defense stuff doesn’t work

This is just hogwash. The studies above, and my experience teaching thousands of people, do not agree.

This stems from a pervasive myth in the martial arts world I call “the juggernaut foe.” Most people get all of their ideas about violence from TV and movies. On TV, you punch the bad guy in the jaw, he shakes it off, and comes at you harder. Oh yeah, nobody ever bleeds, gets bruised, or gets a thumb in the eye.

The vast majority of criminals are not indestructible. Most of them are afraid of getting caught, hurt, or identified. Most of them prefer easy targets.

The Boston Strangler is known to have killed 13 women. All of his victims except one, Gertrude Gruen, perished. Gertrude Gruen fought off The Strangler and he fled.

Self-defense isn’t about defeating somebody in a ring, like in the UFC. It is about escape. The goals are much different, and the means to achieve them are too.

The false sense of confidence thing

Here’s another one that drives me crazy. The argument is that some amount of training gives women a false sense of confidence. They will then go out and pick fights with people and get into trouble, or something.

This is a load of horse manure.

Not to sound sexist, but women don’t do this – not in my experience. False macho trouble-making falls squarely in the realm of male behavior. Self-defense training leads to smarter decisions, not more stupid ones.

Just give women guns, or pepper spray, or stun guns, etc.

Politics completely aside, firearms and other defensive weapons can be great equalizers. Just recently, a woman brandishing a handgun scared away a knife wielding robber in Portland.

However relying solely on weapon for self-defense leaves a lot of gaps. For example, many people travel to places where carrying a weapon is impractical or illegal. The post office, a school, federal property, the beach.

Many victims of sexual assault are young women in College, who are not allowed to carry weapons on campus, and because of their age.

Weapons also only work when they are in-hand precisely when you need them. The woman in the story above was luckily able to retrieve a firearm from her car. An assailant might not give you time to access a weapon.

Unarmed skills are the first and last line of defense. If you need to fight to get away, access a weapon, or retain a weapon, unarmed skills are crucial. If you lose your weapon, can’t access it, it fails, unarmed skills are what you’re going to have to rely upon. There is a good reason our ARMED forces train in unarmed close-quarters combat.

What self-defense training does

Good self-defense training isn’t just kicks and punches. It begins with awareness. It teaches to look for indicators of violence in people’s body language. It teaches escape and avoidance strategies. Yes, there are also physical techniques.

But one of the interesting things to come out of these studies is that women who are trained are less likely to be the target of attempted attacks. This is important. They aren’t just better at fending off attacks, they are less like to be attacked.

Why is this? I have two theories:

1. People who are properly trained have better awareness of their surroundings and the people around them. They are more able to avoid problems before they start.

2. Training changes people’s body language. A bit of confidence and perceived strength and awareness is very off-putting for somebody looking to victimize someone. I have seen this with my own students.

The effect might be completely unconscious. If you’ve ever been made uneasy by someone and couldn’t explain exactly why, you’ll understand this.

My personal take

If you couldn’t tell by now, I am all in for women getting self-defense training. I train and will continue to train my wife and daughters. I believe it’s the right thing to do.

Western Canadian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament results for Martial Arts Vancouver

Martial Arts Vancouver

We had another excellent tournament at the CBJJF Western Canadian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Penticton on Saturday July 4 ’15. We won 2nd place behind the Pacific Top Team in Kids No Gi Points and we picked up the trophy for Most points in the BC BJJ Tournament a few weeks prior. Here are the results: Antonio Costantino: Gold, 3 matches, points and rear naked choke, Dylan Cheng: Silver in a tough advanced division, Marques Calapiz: Gold, 2 matches- 1 rnc and 1 arm-bar, Kristian Montes: Gold, 3 matches, 2 arm-bars and one entangled arm-bar, Micah Calapiz: Honourable mention in a tough advanced division with one rnc and loss by points, Adam Posener: Gold, 2 matches both by arm-bars, and Emilio Ditrocchio gets a Silver in Advanced No Gi and Honourable mention in the Gi.

It was a good time and we had a great party afterwards by the Pool. Thank you to the parents for the support and the help coaching.

Martial Arts Vancouver

Martial Arts Vancouver

Here is some information on our Kids and Youth programs for Martial Arts Vancouver at Posener’s Pankration/MMA, Muay Thai and Submission Wrestling:

Vancouver’s Premier Mixed Martial Arts school for children and youths.

With special attention given to motor skill development, mental focusing attributes, and children’s inherent capabilities. Youth kickboxing Vancouver Children’s and Teen classes are designed to emphasize:

– DISCIPLINE – RESPECT – CONFIDENCE DEVELOPMENT – SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT

The development of these qualities and principals are given extra attention because they build a strong foundation in the three battles: the Mind, the Body, and the Spirit.If developed properly, then success is assured.

We engage in a brief zazen meditation at the beginning of each class to become present, focused and prepared for what is to come in the class, and, at the end of class, we meditate briefly to lock in the experiences, center our energy, and commit to continuing making progress. As a regular practice to enhance learning, we also repeat strongly the Tenets of the School, Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control, and Indomitable Spirit, at the end of each class to solidify the development of these qualities for Kids Mixed Martial Arts Vancouver.

Our Qualification Code, which is a form to be filled out by the parent and student for advancement in rank, for Kids MMA Vancouver at Posener’s Pankration/MMA and Muay Thai, highlights that respect and school achievement, in addition to the development of combative skills in mixed martial arts, are highly valued, esteemed and developed.

The development of equanimity of spirit is also given special attention in order to deal with challenges well; especially in regards to winning and losing. The attributes of effort, determination, skill development and spirit are given special attention, as these qualities will lead to enduring success. The goal of truly doing one’s best, regardless of outcome, especially in regards to some combative sport applications, is given priority to help develop progress, growth and character. The consistent and continuous goal of making progress in all areas, both on the mat and off, will help develop a student’s full long term potential for Kids/Youth MMA Vancouver at Posener’s Pankration/MMA and Muay Thai.

Let’s keep up the great results everyone. We are showing excellent progress on many levels. Next is the Western Canadian Jiu-Jitsu Championships.

Here is some information on our Kids Pankration/MMA for Kids Martial Arts Vancouver.

Vancouver’s Premier Mixed Martial Arts school for children and youths.

With special attention given to motor skill development, mental focusing attributes, and children’s inherent capabilities. Youth kickboxing Vancouver Children’s and Teen classes are designed to emphasize:

– DISCIPLINE – RESPECT – CONFIDENCE DEVELOPMENT – SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT

The development of these qualities and principals are given extra attention because they build a strong foundation in the three battles: the Mind, the Body, and the Spirit.If developed properly, then success is assured.

We engage in a brief zazen meditation at the beginning of each class to become present, focused and prepared for what is to come in the class, and, at the end of class, we meditate briefly to lock in the experiences, center our energy, and commit to continuing making progress. As a regular practice to enhance learning, we also repeat strongly the Tenets of the School, Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control, and Indomitable Spirit, at the end of each class to solidify the development of these qualities for Kids Mixed Martial Arts Vancouver.

Our Qualification Code, which is a form to be filled out by the parent and student for advancement in rank, for Kids MMA Vancouver at Posener’s Pankration/MMA and Muay Thai, highlights that respect and school achievement, in addition to the development of combative skills in mixed martial arts, are highly valued, esteemed and developed.

The development of equanimity of spirit is also given special attention in order to deal with challenges well; especially in regards to winning and losing. The attributes of effort, determination, skill development and spirit are given special attention, as these qualities will lead to enduring success. The goal of truly doing one’s best, regardless of outcome, especially in regards to some combative sport applications, is given priority to help develop progress, growth and character. The consistent and continuous goal of making progress in all areas, both on the mat and off, will help develop a student’s full long term potential for Kids/Youth MMA Vancouver at Posener’s Pankration/MMA and Muay Thai.

Congratulations: Artin Nazari – Gold: 2 matches: armbar and points, Brandon Cheng- Silver: Fig 4 , Rodean Nazari: Gold: 2 matches: points, Jaspher Montes: Silver, Micah Calapiz: Gold: 2 matches: Rear Naked Choke and triangle choke, Kristian Montes: Gold: 2 matches, both armbars, Dylan Cheng: moved to advanced division. 6 matches: RNC, entangled armbar, triangle choke, +? , Adam Posener: Gold: 2 matches: Rear Naked Choke and triangle choke, Marques Calapiz: Gold: 3 matches: Kimura, entangled armbar and Rear Naked Choke. Everyone showed improvement from the first timers who wanted to get the experience, to the second timers who improved their performance, to the competitors who are taking big steps forward in skill, application and spirit. Congratulations to everyone! It was great to see everyone performing their best, at this time. It is also great to have the support of the parents and their help in the homework. Thank you,

Kids Jiu-Jitsu Vancouver

Here is some information on our Kids Pankration/MMA program for Kids Jiu-Jitsu Vancouver:

Vancouver’s Premier Mixed Martial Arts school for children and youths.

With special attention given to motor skill development, mental focusing attributes, and children’s inherent capabilities. Youth kickboxing Vancouver Children’s and Teen classes are designed to emphasize:

– DISCIPLINE – RESPECT – CONFIDENCE DEVELOPMENT – SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT

The development of these qualities and principals are given extra attention because they build a strong foundation in the three battles: the Mind, the Body, and the Spirit.If developed properly, then success is assured.

We engage in a brief zazen meditation at the beginning of each class to become present, focused and prepared for what is to come in the class, and, at the end of class, we meditate briefly to lock in the experiences, center our energy, and commit to continuing making progress. As a regular practice to enhance learning, we also repeat strongly the Tenets of the School, Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control, and Indomitable Spirit, at the end of each class to solidify the development of these qualities for Kids Mixed Martial Arts Vancouver.

Our Qualification Code, which is a form to be filled out by the parent and student for advancement in rank, for Kids MMA Vancouver at Posener’s Pankration/MMA and Muay Thai, highlights that respect and school achievement, in addition to the development of combative skills in mixed martial arts, are highly valued, esteemed and developed.

The development of equanimity of spirit is also given special attention in order to deal with challenges well; especially in regards to winning and losing. The attributes of effort, determination, skill development and spirit are given special attention, as these qualities will lead to enduring success. The goal of truly doing one’s best, regardless of outcome, especially in regards to some combative sport applications, is given priority to help develop progress, growth and character. The consistent and continuous goal of making progress in all areas, both on the mat and off, will help develop a student’s full long term potential for Kids/Youth MMA Vancouver at Posener’s Pankration/MMA and Muay Thai.